Gabon presidency admits leader Ali Bongo is seriously ill

Gabon's President Ali Bongo, shown here voting on October 6, served as foreign and defence minister during his father's rule

Gabon's presidency admitted for the first time on Sunday that President Ali Bongo, hospitalised for nearly three weeks in Saudi Arabia, is in a serious condition but said his health is improving.

The 59-year-old leader was taken to hospital in the Saudi capital Riyadh on October 24 but his condition has now "greatly improved" and he is "recovering most of his functions," presidency spokesman Ike Ngouoni said.

Lack of official news -- along with memories of the secrecy-shrouded death of Bongo's father Omar Bongo in 2009 -- had sparked numerous rumours, including suggestions he was incapacitated or dead.

Following discomfort and "persistent vertigo... the first tests revealed bleeding which justified medical surgical care in a highly specialised sector," according to a medical bulletin from doctors treating Bongo, quoted by Ngouoni.

Ali Bongo "was treated with appropriate and thorough support that has so far significantly improved his general condition," it said.

A foreign source close to Bongo and his French-born wife Sylvia told AFP on Wednesday that Bongo had had a stroke.

- 'Encouraging' physical recovery -

The Bongo family has governed the oil-rich West African nation for five decades and long maintained close ties with former colonial master France under a system known as "Francafrique".

Relations cooled after Ali Bongo was elected in 2009 following his father's death and French authorities launched a corruption investigation into the family's assets.